Insights and analysis
What We’re Seeing
These posts share what we're observing across small businesses, entrepreneurs, and local economies. We write about trends, challenges, and shifts we see through our direct work with founders and business owners in San Antonio and beyond. We give our community timely, useful information they can actually apply.
Five Years of Emerge and Rise: What Building From the Ground Up Actually Looks Like
Half of all small businesses in San Antonio do not make it to year five. Emerge and Rise did, and we were built to make sure more of them do too. This is an honest look at what five years of running a nonprofit venture development organization in this city actually cost, produced, and taught us.
The Myth of the Bootstrap
Women, immigrants, and veterans start businesses at rates that outpace their share of the population. But the data on who actually gets the capital, networks, and institutional support to grow tells a different story. This post looks at the structural gap between who starts and who scales.
San Antonio Is Booming. Who Is It For?
San Antonio added more net new residents than any other U.S. city between 2022 and 2023. It also runs a food bank that now feeds 105,000 people every week. This post looks at what the data says about who the boom is actually reaching, and who it isn't.
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Empower Dreams: Join Us in Building Business Futures
Every donation fuels the journey of aspiring entrepreneurs in our community. Your support enables Emerge and Rise to provide essential resources, mentorship, and training to those who need it most. Together, we can transform potential into success. Invest in a brighter future today—every contribution makes a difference!